"Today we will be learning how to get rid of a boggart," Professor Lupin says.
I like Professor Lupin. He's a really nice and smart person. I hope he's not possessed by the Dark Lord like the Defence Against the Dark Arts professor that was teaching the year before I came.
"I will let the boggart out of this closet on the count of three. First, everyone practice this spell," Lupin continues. "Riddickuls!"
"Riddickuls!" the class chants.
"This class is riddikulus," Draco mutters beside me.
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I ignore him.
"Everyone line up to practise against the boggart."
I get near the front with Draco in front of me. Ginny's behind me and pushes me towards him. I stomp on her foot.
Finally, it's my turn.
Lupin looks at me. "Ready, Eliza?" he asks, putting his hand on the cabinet door. I nod. I know very well what the boggart is going to turn into.
"One... two.... three," Lupin opens the cabinet.
Ginny's dead body lies on the floor.
"R-riddickuls!"
"More confidence!" Lupin encourages.
"RIDDICKULS!" I shout.
The diary that I found in Ginny's pillowcase appears where the body was.
I exhale and bite my lip to keep any tears at bay. I walk over to the side with the other people who finished. Draco looks at me. "You alright?"
I try as hard as I can to sound strong. His concern is concerning "Yeah." My voice still cracks.
Ginny steps up to the boggart. "Riddickuls!"
Ginny walks over to me when she's done.
"Why was your boggart a cute guy?" I whisper in her ear.
"That was Tom Riddle."
"Him?! But he was so good-looking! What happened?"
"He was never a good person. He was always You-Know-Who."
"I suppose that's true..."
"But... your boggart."
I squirm. "What about it?"
"Is your biggest fear really me dying?"
I exhale. "Yes. After seeing you in Harry's arms and having that brief moment where I thought you were gone, it scared the living daylights out of me. You were my first real friend. Just having you in my life made it so much better. Before I came to Hogwarts, I didn't really have anyone, I just had Cedric. And you changed that for me."
She's almost in tears.
"Oh Eliza." she throws her arms around me and hugs me tight.
I tuck a few strands of hair behind my ear.
"He asked me to help him with astronomy homework again."
"Oohh, alright," Ginny smirks at me.
"At first I thought he wanted to get closer to me, but he really is terrible at astronomy."
"Well he could be asking anyone, but he chose you."
"I know, but people also ask Cedric for help with astronomy a lot, not because he's cute but because our family's really good at it."
"Still, he could have just asked the professor or another friend. And he seems independent, so choosing you must have been his second choice. Unless he did it because he fancies you, then it was his first choice."
"True."
"Let's go to dinner, then I can refresh your flirting skills."
I laugh. "Thank you."
~~~~
"No, the closest star to earth is the sun."
"The sun is a star?" Draco asks.
"Yes!" I laugh.
He brushes his hair back and I blush. He looks so cute when he does that. "I'm daft."
